Shortform Books

Business Adventures by John Brooks: Book Overview

What can you learn from Business Adventures by John Brooks? Is the book still relevant, after all these years? Business Adventures is a collection of essays about the unpredictability of corporations and Wall Street—and the people behind them. Through 12 in-depth essays, longtime New Yorker contributor John Brooks examines how businesses and economies can rise and fall based on people’s behavior, which is often driven by emotions, habits of thinking, and human tendencies. Read more for an overview of this business classic.

Public Speaking Attire: Do’s and Don’ts

What is appropriate attire to wear when presenting? What are some things you should consider when choosing what to wear for a speech? What you wear on stage sets the tone for your talk before a single word comes out of your mouth. When putting your speech outfit together, consider what impression it confers but don’t forget the practical concerns such as where your microphone will go. Here are some tips for choosing your public speaking attire.

The Top 3 Reasons Why People Make Bad Choices

Why do people continue to make bad choices despite tons of advice on how to avoid them? How does your fabricated reality lead you to make poor decisions? Daniel Gilbert, the author of Stumbling on Happiness, has a theory about why this happens. Gilbert believes that your brain fabricates beliefs about your past, present, and future that don’t always align with reality. Gilbert’s theory is that this fabricated reality leads you to make decisions about the future that aren’t conducive to happiness. Here are the reasons people make bad choices, according to social psychologist Daniel Gilbert.

Toxic Communication: Why People Don’t Speak Up

What is toxic communication? How does toxic communication first arise in a relationship? You don’t want to start a fight, but saying nothing might end your relationship. According to the book Crucial Accountability, toxic communication first occurs when people choose to stay silent. Often, people don’t speak up because they either downplay the costs of silence, exaggerate the risk of speaking up, or consider themselves helpless. Keep reading to learn more about toxic communication and the three reasons people choose to stay silent.

How to Judge a Personality Based on Little Information

What’s the most effective way to size up someone’s personality? How much information do we really need to accurately size up a person’s qualities? When it comes to reading personalities, we really don’t need much information. In fact, too much information can obscure the bigger picture with irrelevant details. Taking a “thin slice”—an extremely small segment of information about a person’s life—can lead to very accurate judgments about their personality. Here’s why “thin-slicing” is the best way to judge a personality.

The 7 Steps for Creating an Effective Business Strategy

What makes a winning business strategy? What factors should you take into account when designing a big-picture strategy for your business? It’s one thing to set goals for your company, but it’s another thing to know how to reach those goals. The path towards your goals is your strategy. An effective business strategy is one that is built from the ground up. Here’s a seven-step process for creating a strategy for success.

The Role of the Unconscious in Insight Problem-Solving

What’s an “insight problem”? How do you solve such a problem? An insight problem is a problem that requires a fundamental shift in perspective in order to arrive at the solution. Oftentimes, the solution to an insight problem comes out seemingly out of nowhere in an “Aha! moment” fashion. In 1931, psychologist Norman Maier investigated how we arrive at solutions to insight problems in his famous Two-String Problem experiment. Here’s what he found.

What NOT to Do When Discussing Accountability Issues

Are you facing accountability issues at work or in a relationship? What should you avoid when talking about accountability? The book Crucial Accountability helps readers recognize what not to do when discussing accountability issues. Many of these points can be used in other tough conversations too, not just for accountability issues. Keep reading to tackle accountability issues in no time.

What’s a Short Squeeze? Piggly Wiggly & GameStop

What’s a short squeeze? Who profits? Who loses? Making the case that people are the stock market’s most volatile component, John Brooks recaps how a man from Memphis named Clarence Saunders “cornered” his own company’s stock, meaning he obtained enough shares to give him the power to manipulate its price. It wasn’t a calculated move on his part; it was a reaction to Wall Street speculators who had planned an attack on his company, a chain of supermarkets called Piggly Wiggly. The affair serves as an interesting illustration of a short squeeze. Continue reading to learn about the Piggly Wiggly

Why Your Vision for the Future Is Wrong

Do you have a vision for the future? Do you make present-day decisions based on how you think you’ll feel later? Social psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains in his book Stumbling on Happiness that, when you make life choices based on how you assume you’ll feel in the future, you tend to make poor choices. Your first mistake is assuming that you’ll feel the same in the future as you do now. Here’s why people tend to make choices they regret in the future.